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The peace lily, or Spathiphyllum, is a very popular houseplant known for its gorgeous white blooms. It’s not uncommon to find a peace lily in the home of someone who doesn’t consider themselves a “plant person” since they are low maintenance and all-around beautiful plants! In this post, we’ll learn all about caring for peace lilies.
Background
The peace lily is a flowering plant that is native to tropical countries. Their leaves can grow about 5 to 25 inches in length. There are many varieties of peace lily, but the typical houseplant usually grows around two feet tall. The leaves are medium green to dark, forest green in color and shiny. The leaves generally point upwards and outwards, but in my photos, you’ll see that my plant is a bit “leggy”—most likely due to lack of sufficient light.
The peace lily grows beautiful white flowers in the form of a spathe that forms around a spadix. The spadix is usually yellow in color, but that can vary. The flower will turn green over time and then die. When a flower first appears, you’ll see a white bump forming out of a leaf stem. This is a very exciting moment of peace lily parenthood…maybe because mine doesn’t flower very often!
The bump will eventually detach and open up to reveal the spadix. Peace lilies can have one flower or a few flowers at a time. Mine usually flowers once, dies a few months later, then another one will appear.
Where Can I Find a Peace Lily?
You can easily find a peace lily to purchase on Etsy! Check out this gorgeous peace lily from one of my favorite Etsy shops.
Caring for a Peace Lily
The peace lily is a relatively easy houseplant, which is why a lot of people have them. For me, there was a bit of a learning curve at the beginning because this was one of the first plants I’d ever owned.
Soil
No special soil is needed. Just a well-draining indoor plant potting mix. They’ll also do well in a mix that holds some moisture.
Light
Peace lilies do well in bright to medium indirect sunlight. The leaves will burn if the plant is receiving too much light.
If your peace lily is growing leggy (like mine), try putting it in a place that gets a little more light. Leggy plants grow longer stems and form a stretched-out look as they try to reach more light.
Water
Peace lilies like to be somewhat moist, but not totally wet. This helps their leaves maintain their shine while sitting in too wet of a pot can cause them to brown, or worse, root rot.
Water when the soil is dry about an inch down. I find that I water mine every week and a half or so. If the leaves are drooping significantly, your plant is telling you that it needs to be watered. After a good watering, they should perk back up pretty quickly.
Peace lilies like humidity—check out my post on easy ways to create humidity for your houseplants!
Repotting
Peace lilies like to be somewhat rootbound. When your plant has clearly outgrown its pot, when roots are coming out of the drainage holes, or when it’s drooping more often, it’s time to repot. This will probably be about every two years, but your plant will be the ultimate judge of this. Choose a pot that’s the next size up from the current pot and has drainage.
Fertilizer
A balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer will work fine for peace lilies. Be sure to read the fertilizer instructions on when and how to use it.
Pruning
No pruning is necessary aside from removing dying leaves or flowers. It’s best to wait to remove the dying leaf until it gets to the point where it can be gently plucked away. When the flower turns brown, you should cut that off with sterilized plant shears or sharp scissors.
Propagation
In my experience, peace lily propagation works better in soil as opposed to water. Propagation of this plant is done by dividing the rhizome, which are horizontal “stems” that grow underneath the surface of the soil. They are where new plants sprout from.
Find a baby plant and gently snip it away from the rhizome and untangle any roots that are tangled with the mother plant’s roots. It’s OK if there is some breakage, but try to be as careful as possible. Peace lily roots don’t get too thick but if you need to you can use a sterilized, sharp knife to help separate the roots. Try to keep as much intact as possible, though.
Plant the baby in a small pot with drainage, water it, and carry on like you would with your other peace lilies!
How Do I Get My Peace Lily to Flower?
As I mentioned earlier, my peace lily doesn’t flower often. Keeping the plant snug in its pot, increasing light, using a houseplant fertilizer, and watering appropriately can help a peace lily flower. Peace lilies only bloom a few times a year, if that, but once it does the flower should last around two months. Don’t get discouraged if yours doesn’t bloom, though. They are still beautiful plants!
Additional Information
- Just because your plant isn’t flowering doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy. Some plants may never flower or flower very rarely. It all has to do with its environment.
- This plant is very toxic to animals, so keep this out of your furry friend’s reach!
Sharon says
Very informative, thank you, I’m plant sitting and have the plant with me so I need more info. My question is are the bulbs at the base of the plant supposed to be above the soil or do I need to put more in the pot? Please advise thank you
Julie says
Hi Sharon – Peace lilies don’t grow from bulbs, but I think you might be referring to the neck? (A brown chunk at the base of the plant that looks like it has pushed up out of the soil?) There might even be some little aerial roots growing out of it. If this is what you’re referring to you can bury this part next time you repot the plant. If you don’t plan to repot it anytime soon you can add more soil to the top so it covers the brown part. Leave the green part above the soil, though.
Res says
Hello – came across your site while looking for help to save a rescue peace lily that got forgotten when an office building closed up and everyone went work from home. It was so dry it floated when I tried to rehydrate the soil, but the leaves are still green in the heart and after reading other articles here and elsewhere, I think it can be saved.
My biggest concern is the length of the stem after removing all the dead leaves – the stem from soil to first green(ish, might lose a couple more) leaf is 4-6 inches. Is this normal? Do I need to plant it deeper when I repot it? (The pot it is in now is badly cracked – just repotting to an intact pot, not larger).
I appreciate any advice; this poor thing has had a rough time of it AND is my first personal experience with a peace lily, so I’m floundering a little trying to save it.
Julie - Houseplant Aficionado says
Hi Res – Apologies, it sounds like you might be referring to the “neck,” but I’m not totally sure. If so, it seems like you’re having the same problem as the previous commenter on this post. The neck is the brown chunk at the base of the plant that looks like it has been pushed up out of the soil. If that is the case, yes, you can bury this part next time you repot the plant. Just be sure to leave any green above the soil. I’ve seen this on peace lilies before and in my experience, it’s not a huge deal.
KC says
Hello,
I have the same issue with my peace lily. If it’s not too much, please see the image below.
https://imgur.com/oeBMFuP
It was overwatered when I went away and had someone else take care of it. When I started taking off the loopy leaves, it looked like this. This image is a lot worse because now every time new leaves would grow, they would not grow big enough and then they would dry out.
Is this normal and I just have to continue waiting it out?
Anne Campbell says
My peace lily has been doing fine in its location for three years, flowering every spring and looking healthy and full. However, now it is losing leaves and looking leggy. A flower came up but it was very small and is dried up but a yellow nodule has appeared at the base of the flower. The nodule is about the size of a blueberry. I’ve never seen this before and I’m wondering what it indicates given the changed appearance of the plant.
Elaine Schultz says
Hi. Can you tell me why the stalks of peace lilies split & curl upward?
Julie - Houseplant Aficionado says
Hi Elaine – Unfortunately, I don’t think I understand what you’re describing with splitting and curling stalks? If anyone else has experienced this please feel free to comment!
Konnie says
Mine has grown leggy this year. I transpanted it last year to a larger pot. It sets in a corner between two window that have blinds on them, that lets in filtered light. I am not sure what I should do.
Konnie says
I repotted my plant last year. It sets between two window that have blinds that lets a filtered light in. Now it is getting leggy and very small (about 1 1/2 ) inch flower last month. I don’t know what else to do.
Julie - Houseplant Aficionado says
Hi Konnie – It sounds like your plant still probably needs more light. I would try moving it to an area with a brighter light source and see how it reacts.
Konnie says
thank you. I will give it more light. But do you know if it will eventually have leaves lower down?
Julie - Houseplant Aficionado says
Hi Konnie – You could do some pruning around the area where you want more growth by cutting off some stems at the base. Just do a little at a time though, in case it doesn’t give you the results you want.
LC says
My peace lily blooms all the time. Right now it has several flowers. One is a large, beautiful flower that has white, knobby bumps on the stem. What are those bumps?
Michele W says
My peace Lilly blooms but the blooms and leaves are much smaller than when I got it. How do the greenhouses get them so big?
Amim says
My peace lily looks fine, flowering every year but the flower takes a lot of time to bloom and I dont see any side growth in it, anybody have any idea what should I do? Any idea would be much appreciated.